Sunday Mail - Australia
Simone
Lahbib is one of the hottest and most popular young actors on
British television, yet the character with which she has found
fame, Bad Girls' Helen Stewart, is the antithesis of the dramatic
heroine. Stewart is the idealistic wing governor at Larkhall
women's prison and, to further diminish any residual gloss from
her snappy power-dressing image, Stewart has lesbian tendencies.
While Lahbib says the relationships are "not explicit",
these are hardly the ingredients for a mainstream popular drama
series, and the Seven Network is calling it an adult soap. While
we had our own series about women in prison in the early '80s
(Prisoner), it was certainly a soap while Bad Girls is more
heightened drama.
Creator Brian Park, who honed his craft on Coronation Street
(which has been running since 1960), prefers to refer to this
well-made and quickly addictive series as "a powerful drama
series set in a closed world governed by petty rules and harsh
punishments". Critics were not that kind when Bad Girls
premiered a couple of years ago, but Lahbib says viewers immediately
took to it.
The series is set in Larkhall's G Wing, which Stewart runs,
and Park's aim is to dramatically portray this tense and unusual
community, capturing the warmth and humor needed to survive
the system. On the outside are the women's homes, partners and
children, while on the inside they must negotiate their places
in the prison's hierarchy. Bad Girls aims to show the relentless
procedures of the prison system and its regulations pitched
against the devious guerrilla tactics of the often smarter prisoners.
Into this cauldron is pitched wing governor Stewart (Lahbib),
a young idealist. She soon finds herself pitted against the
wing's resident bully, convicted murderer Michelle Dockley (Deborah
Stephenson, Playing the Field), who is also having a secret
affair with Stewart's second in command, prison officer Jim
Fenner (Prime Suspect, Heartbeat). Stewart is in a live-in relationship
with her boyfriend.
With two series of Bad Girls completed and work about to start
on a third, Lahbib, a fan of the internet, likes to log on to
the show's website to gauge viewer interest. Speaking by phone
from her home in the UK, Lahbib is enjoying the autumn sun in
her garden but, unlike her character, she is good for a laugh.
Lahbib comes from a family of five kids. She says she is enjoying
the kick Bad Girls has given her career.
Lahbib has not been fazed by the controversial nature of the
show, including Stewart's growing physical attraction to inmate
Nikki Wade (Mandana Jones). "I knew from the moment I signed
on where they intended going with my character," she says.
"And, to be honest, I have found the stuff (love scenes)
with Mandana easy. "We did a television series together
called London Bridge, so we have worked together before. "As
we are both straight there is no sexual tension. Sometimes when
you do love scenes with someone you half fancy it can be quite
difficult." Tuesdays 9.30pm Seven.